Staple remover



Sept. 24, 1940. w. E. DE GENERES 2,215,662

STAPLE REMOVER Filed Oct. 23, 1939 Patented Se t. 24, 1940 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to means for removing paper fastenersand particularly to devices such as are designed to remove the ordinarywire staples used to attach sheets of paper together.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple, lightweight, inexpensive, manually operable device for removing staples. Inthis connection it is a particular object of the invention to provide adevice which is easily operable by the thumb and forefingers forremoving staples.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a staple removerdevice which will not injure the paper during the removal of the stapletherefrom. In this connection it is an object to provide a device havinga part which slips under the upper portion of a staple and another partcontained in the first part which is so arranged that it may be movedupwardly and away from the first part in order to remove the staple, thefirst mentioned part acting as a base adapted to bear against the paperduring removal of the staple.

There are various sizes of staples in use and so far as I know, stapleremovers are usually designed for the removal of a particular sizestaple and do not function efficiently when used to remove a differentsize staple from the one for which the device was designed.

Therefore, it is another object of this invention to provide a stapleremover which is particularly designed for use in removing staples ofdifferent sizes.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a staple remover whichis so constructed as to accommodate advertising matter so that thedevice may be used as an advertising medium.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawing and thefollowing description thereof. Referring to the drawing which is forillustrative purposes only:

Fig. l is an enlarged side elevation partly in section of the stapleremover of this invention shown in operative relation to a staple andtwo sheets of material;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device in the position the partsassume at the end of the staple removing operation;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the device; and

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the forward end of a modified form ofstaple remover device particularly for the removal of different sizestaples.

More particularly describing the invention, reference numeral ll deviceof the invention shown in position on two sheets of material generallyindicated by reference numeral I2 and through which the staple l3extends.

generally indicates the To facilitate illustration of the device thestaple remover has been shown in all of the views slightly larger thannormal size.

The staple remover device comprises a primary member M which has a baseportion l5 and a handle portion 16. The base portion is fiat and thehandle portion extends upwardly and rearwardly thereof substantially inthe form of an arch. In the form of the invention shown the primarymember M is formed of a single metal strip which has been cut to thedesired pattern and bent to provide the upwardly extending side portionsHi. In the region of the handle portion the sides have been bent backupon the main body of the member as at l9 in order to provide a fiathandle. If desired, a card 20 hearing advertising matter may be insertedunder the folded side portions of the handle as shown in Fig. 3 and thedevice used as a'medium of advertising. 7

The base portion N5 of the primary member i4 is provided with anaperture or cut-out portion 26 for the purposes which will subsequentlybe described. The outer end or forward end of the base portion istapered or bevelled at 22in order to facilitate the insertion of thebase portion under a staple so that it mayoccupy the position relativeto the staple as shown in Fig. 1.

-A secondary member or thumb lever generallyindicated by referencenumeral 2 3 is pivotally mounted on the primary member by means of a pin25 which extends through the sides of said member and through the sideportions iii of the primary member. Preferably the member 24 is formedof a single sheet of metal which has been cut to the desired shape andbent to formthe side portions 26 which terminate in the ears 21 throughwhich the aforementioned pin 25 extends.

At it outer or forward end the member 24 is provided with what will betermed a tongue portion 28 which is adapted to be accommodated by theaperture 2! in the base portion I5 of the primary member M. In the formof the invention shown this tongue portion 28 is bent at an angle to themain body of the member 24 as isbest illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and isadapted to fit fiush within the base member. At the inner end of thetongue the material forming the member 24 is flared outwardly at 29 soas to form a stop ,50

means to prevent the tongue from being moved beyond the desired positionwithin the base portion of member I4.

In order to yieldably hold the members l4 and -Fig. 2 to extract thestaple.

means .might be used in place of the particular type of spring shown foryieldably holding the parts of the device in the desired position.

In operation, the device is inserted under a staple as shown in Fig. 1.The particular shape of the handle portion l6 and oil the member 24permits ready manual manipulation of the device by means of the thumband forefingers. After the base portion and tongue portions have beeninserted under the staple as shown in' Fig. 1,

the members 24 and H are brought together bydownward movement of theupper end of member 24 to the position in which the members are shown inFig. 2 thereby causing the tongue to move upwardly with relation to thebase portion and extract or remove the staple as shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 5 there is shown a modified form of the device which is designedfor removing two different size staples. In this form of the device abase portion, here indicated by reference numeral 32, is provided withan outer end portion 33 which is of reduced width with respect to themain body of the base portion. The base portion is provided with anaperture or cut-out portion 34 which is wider in the region of the wideportion of the base portion and has a narrower.

extension into the end portion of reduced width as indicated in thedrawing. The secondary member, here indicated by reference numeral 240.is provided with a tongue '35 which generally corresponds in shape tothe shape of the aperture 34 in the base portion. With this constructionthe outer end 33 of the base portion may be inserted under a small sizestaple indicated by reference numeral 36 and the device operated as inIn the event it is desired to remove a staple of larger size, such asthe staple indicated by reference numeral 31, the base portion isslipped under the staple as shown in the drawing and the device operatedas pointed out in connection with the form of the device shown in Figs.1 to 5. With this construction it is possible to remove both large andsmall size staples without damaging the paper in any way such as bycrinkling or tearing due to the fact that the particular portions of thebase portion and the tongue are designed to fit the particular stapletobe removed.

Although the invention has been shown and described as taking particularforms, it is contemplated that certain changes might be made withoutdeparting from the invention and it is intended to cover such changes ascome within the scope of the claims.

While I have particularly referred to the utility of my invention asapplied to the removal of staples where such staples have been used forbinding together several sheets of paper, it is to be understood that myinvention is not limited in that respect but is applicable for otherpurposes such, for instance, as the removal of staples which have beenused for attaching drawing paper to a drawing board, etc.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device for removing staples comprising a primary member formed of asingle piece of sheet metal bent to form a flat base portion and anupwardly and rearwardly extending arched portion having side edgeportions bent upon the main portion of the arched portion to formholding guides to receive an advertising card or the like, said baseportion having an aperture, said member also being bent to form upwardlyextending side portions in the region of the inner end of said baseportion; a secondary member formed of a single piece of sheet metalpivotally mounted on said upwardly extending side portions, saidsecondary member having a tongue portion extending outwardly of saidpoint of pivotal connection and being normally positioned in said baseportion; and means for yieldably holding said primary and secondarymembers against movement.

2. A device for removing staples comprising a primary member having abase portion and a handle portion said base portion having an outer endportion of reduced width and having an aperture extending from the endportion of reduced width inwardly into the portion of greater width,said aperture being proportioned in width relative to the width of therespective portions of said base portion; a secondary member pivotallymounted on said primary member at a point in the region of the inner endof said base portion, said secondary member having atongue portionextending outwardly of said point of pivotal connection and beingnormally positioned in the aperture in said base portion; and means foryieldably holding said primary and secondary members against movement.

3. A device for removing staples comprising a 'primary member having abase portion and a handle portion said base portion having an outer endportion of reduced width and having an aperture extending from the endportion of reduced width inwardly into the portion of greater width,said aperture being proportioned in width relative to the width of therespective portions of said base portion; a secondary member pivotallymounted on said primary member at a point in the region of the inner endof said base portion, said secondary member having a tongue portionextending outwardly of said point of pivotal connection and beingnormally positioned in the aperture in said base portion; stop means forlimiting the movement of said members when said tongue is in saidaperture; and means for yieldably holding said primary and secondarymembers against movement.

4. A device for removing staples comprising a primary member having arelatively short apertured flat base portion and hawng a relatively longarched handle portion extending upwardly and rearwardly of the baseportion, the major portion of said handle portion being spaced aconsiderable distance from the plane of said base portion; a relativelyshort thumb lever pivotally mounted on said primary member at a point in

